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Fort Mill High School senior Emma Bickett will head for the bonnie banks of Scotland this year to spend her college years at the University of St. Andrews, a Scottish stone monument of a school that was built in the early 1400s.

"I applied on a whim," said the 17-year-old senior, who will graduate on Saturday. "It was not my first choice. But when I was there in January, I fell in love with it. It's really old. It's really charming. The dorms look like castles."

St. Andrews, known to most for its golf course, which hosts the British Open golf tournament each year, is about one hour north of Edinburgh on the North Sea. The school has a global student population, and Emma plans to focus on international studies. She spent three months in Switzerland learning German and already has been to London, France, Italy, the Caribbean and Honduras.

She studied Spanish for three years as part of an international cluster at Fort Mill High. "I hope to work for the United Nations or a U.S. embassy abroad, or be a travel agent," she said. "Anything I do has to have an international flair."

She looks forward to going to Spain or an art museum in London for a weekend.

The cold, wind and rain for which northern Scotland is famous does not daunt her. "I look at it as an opportunity to get a cute new jacket and some boots," she said.

Fort Mill High School senior Emma Bickett will head for the bonnie banks of Scotland this year to spend her college years at the University of St. Andrews, a Scottish stone monument of a school that was built in the early 1400s.

"I applied on a whim," said the 17-year-old senior, who will graduate on Saturday. "It was not my first choice. But when I was there in January, I fell in love with it. It's really old. It's really charming. The dorms look like castles."

St. Andrews, known to most for its golf course, which hosts the British Open golf tournament each year, is about one hour north of Edinburgh on the North Sea. The school has a global student population, and Emma plans to focus on international studies. She spent three months in Switzerland learning German and already has been to London, France, Italy, the Caribbean and Honduras.

She studied Spanish for three years as part of an international cluster at Fort Mill High. "I hope to work for the United Nations or a U.S. embassy abroad, or be a travel agent," she said. "Anything I do has to have an international flair."

She looks forward to going to Spain or an art museum in London for a weekend.

The cold, wind and rain for which northern Scotland is famous does not daunt her. "I look at it as an opportunity to get a cute new jacket and some boots," she said.